Needles & Pins Tattoo & Piercing

My boyfriend and I came here for his first tattoo(a tribal shark), and I was a little iffy but Stix made us feel so comfortable as soon as we came in. He is straight out and very nice. He had us send in pictures of what my bf wanted and then drew his own design. It was amazing!

The one star rating is because of a SHADY artist there by the name of FRANK aka "PONCH" HE STEALS MONEY FROM HIS POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS! THIEF!  
Here is the story: I was referred to this place by a good friend who had a few tattoos done there. I went in a week before my bday to inquire about pricing and to set up an appointment to get tatted on my actual bday. I walked in and spoke with Frank aka "Ponch" who quoted me a good price for the piece I wanted. I was really excited. So Excited. He asked me for a $20 deposit which is totally fair. However, I decided to give him $100. I wanted to pay for most of it so I wouldn't have to worry about it later. He asked me to come in a few days before with more pics of what exactly I wanted (any good artist wouldn't have you do that. Red flag) So, the Saturday before my appointment I walked in to drop off some pics. He wasn't there but I asked the other artists if Ponch had a book of his work. They showed me his book and immediately I knew he wasn't the artist I wanted to do this important piece. In my opinion his work is HORRID. It reminded me of prison ink. Very amateur. Awful lines. Transparent Shading.  I asked another artist, Jeff, what he thought of the piece I wanted. His ideas and creativity were awesome. He made me even more excited to get this piece done. There was just something about Jeff that made me feel comfortable. I looked at Jeff's book and of course, it was good work. In no way did Jeff "steal" me as a client. It just sort of happened. I figured since I already gave Ponch a $100 deposit he could do another piece that I had in mind and Jeff could do this important piece for me. This should of been no issue, right? Wrong. You know, I get it, I originally had an appointment with Ponch and another artist ended up doing it BUT I still agreed (even though Ponch's work is awful) to have him work on me on my actual bday. Before Jeff even started the tattoo, of course, Ponch walks in, looks at me, and rudely says "you're not getting your deposit back" I said " Its not about the money, I just want work done" He said "so you're going to get something else on Wednesday?" I said "yeah, of course" FAST FORWARD to Wednesday-MY BIRTHDAY. I did MY part and showed up to the appointment that I had scheduled with Ponch. I walk in and he looks at me like I am a ghost and says "can I help you?" I said, "I have an appointment with you" he looks at me and says "NAH, your appointment is done, man!" And then turned around and walked away. I laughed at him and said "Why?" he wouldn't even answer me. So, I just laughed at him and left. The thing is, I GAVE THAT SHADY GUY $100!  If he was a decent human being and didn't want to work on me for whatever reason...I think it would have been fair and honest of him to give me back at least $80 (since he only asked for a $20 deposit) I wasn't feeling him as my tattoo artist BUT a deal is a deal and I would have still let him do a piece for me. I fulfilled MY part.
I've talked to a few of the artists there since then. Apparently poor little Ponchie got his Wittle feelings hurt. BS! act like a man and fulfill your agreements! I did! I've tried to contact the owner but no one calls me back. This place owes me a tattoo but I wont hold my breath. The tattoo I got is good and needs to be touched up. Jeff was good, great customer service BUT because of his "family of tattoo artists" as he said. I WILL NOT return for the touch up. I will just pay another artist to do it.
Frankie/Ponchie: if you're reading this You obviously need the money more than I do. MAN UP!! You shouldn't be stealing from potential clients.
Since then, I've gotten 4 more tattoos done and have brought 3 of my friends to this new place I am going to. Sorry, Needles and Pins "Your Family" is ruining business for you.
SHADY!! SHADY!!! SHADY!!! Gosh, must be nice to make $100 for not doing anything! Poor excuse for a human being. Hey! Ponch! use that $100 to improve your work! It's on me! ;-)

I got the second tattoo of my life at Needles & Pins (actually a coverup).  I got this tattoo a week before my wedding.  This place will all ways be special to me because it added to the surreal feeling I had my whole wedding week and honeymoon.  Mike Greco was the tattoo artist and he is extremely talented.  He designed my tattoo and walked me through the process.  He knew I wasn't a "tattoo guy" and he made sure that the design is what I wanted.  He put some really cool colors in my tattoo that I didn't know existed.  He was talking about the art of tattooing and the ethics of tattoo art.  I've heard some artist are out just to get a buck.  He took his time and we finished well after standard closing time.  It was an awesome experience at a great price.  My fiance and I had a good time just hanging out with Mike and talking about life.  He is a real chill dude.  He put me at ease and made the whole tattoo experience a piece of cake.  Didn't even hurt after 5 hours of chest work!  Needles and Pins gets 5 stars for cleanliness and atmosphere. Tattoo Artist MikeG. 5 stars!